Roast Chicken with Cheese Mash and Garlic Gravy

I love roast chicken and often follow Nigel's advice to squich roast garlic cloves into the winey deglazed pan juices, so I knew we'd love this recipe. Served with Nigel's suggestion of cheese mash, it was the ultimate comfort food for a Saturday night, with maple syrup-roasted parsnips and shredded spring greens. A bottle of Cotes du Rhone topped it off nicely - all in all a brilliant accompaniment to Il Trovatore and sex-God Dmitri Hvorostovsky on Radio 3. Does life get any better?! I don't know which is more tasty, the chicken or Dmitri - well....... actually, I do...............

Warm Soused Mackerel

After a splendid Malaysian lunch at Oxford's Makan La restaurant, we needed something light for supper. Nigel's soused mackerel dish fitted the bill perfectly. We were lucky to get spanking fresh fillets of mackerel from the covered market. Bathed in Nigel's piquant sousing liquor of tarragon vinegar, wine, juniper and bay leaves, they baked to moist perfection in 20 minutes. If you like mackerel, you'll love this recipe. Very healthy too.

Slow Roast Lamb with Chickpea Mash

I mentioned last night about the hot chocolate pudding being a much more effective air freshener than those horrid plug-in ones. Well, this long, slowly roasted lamb dish was even better, with its aromatic rub of garlic, thyme, cumin and paprika. After 4 and a half hours, the bones fell out when I picked it up to remove it from the dish for carving. It went beautifully with the chickpea mash too, although I found I had to 'loosen' it a bit with some stock, as the quantity of olive oil suggested by Nigel wasn't enough to make it creamy and smoothly-mashed. Loads of leftovers, so I shall make a moussaka-type dish tomorrow for tea. Another really good dish, great for a trouble-free Sunday dinner. It was washed down with a nice juicy Cotes du Rhone Cairanne 2007.

Hot Chocolate Puddings

Halved this recipe and baked it in a small oven dish rather than ramekins. I didn't have Nutella spread so added toasted chopped hazelnuts to get the nuttiness. Lovely, rich, chocolately pudding, to reward me after a whole day spent studying, and 'cos I've got a sore throat! (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) The smell of Green & Black's chocolate is still lingering in the flat - who needs plug-in artificial air fresheners!

photo courtesy of http://www.nigelslater.com/

Linguine alla Vongole

It is quite shocking a) how expensive fresh clams are (£12 a kilo at our fishmongers in Oxford) and b) how little clam meat there is in half a kilo! Still, by the time it is distributed throughout the pasta, it is plenty, and it is surely the clam liquor that comes out when cooked with a glass of white wine that is the point of this dish. Simple and delicious, although Nigel says to remove the meat from all the shells, I left a few in the shell, so we could appreciate their 'impossible elegance' as Nigel puts it! Accompanied by an equally elegant Verdicchio from Italy, all in all a fine supper

Treacle Tart

To follow the prawn and coriander fishcakes below, and an excellent, simple roast chicken (a Devonshire Black from Duchy Originals), we have Nigel's version of Treacle Tart. Nothing new here, but a good reminder of a dish I haven't eaten - or made - for years. I halved the recipe, and made a small tart that will see us over two days as a treat. Very cheap too, and I agree with Nigel's addition of lemon (although I added lemon zest as well as juice) as it helps to cut through the cloying sweetness that can accompany treacle tart.

Prawn and Coriander Rolls

Oooh, these were so good. I've commented before how good Nigel is at patties and savoury cakes, and these were no excpetion. We made them small as a canape to go with a delicious cocktail of Bacardi, fresh lemon juice and ginger beer. We placed them on individual crisp baby gem lettuce leaves, and drizzled with sweet chilli sauce mixed with soy. Totally yummy, and we'll make them again, for sure.

Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce

Perfectly nice recipe, similar to ones that I have turned out time and again - essentially, sauteed pork chops, with a sauce made from the deglazed pan juices (with white wine), cream and mustard. I used considerably less cream than Nigel (which is turning out to be the norm!) - 30ml or 2 tablespoons, instead of the 225ml he suggsts in the recipe. His unusual touch (which isn't in this online version but IS in The Diaries) is some chopped cornichons, which add a nice crunch and piquancy to cut through the creaminess. Served with plain Basmati rice and some excellent Italian organic broccoli, it made for a nice Valentine's supper. Delicious bottle of slightly sweet La Couronne des Plantagenets Vouvray to accompany it.

Baked Sausage, Black Pudding and Parsnips

Well, to be honest, we thought this dish was going to be a dog's dinner - onions, parsnips, sausages, black pudding, browned in a roasting tin then baked with chicken stock. Surprise, surprise! (sorry to sound like Cilla Black) It was delicious, especially with a potato chucked in for good measure and lovely fresh, green cabbage to lift the look and flavour. Think of it as the equivalent of a fry-up but with parsnips! Nice on a cold, drizzly night with great lumps of ice still persisting in the streets.

Braised Oxtail with Mustard and Mash

With a face that only your mother could love, oxtail will never win any beauty contests, but it tastes and smells fantastic! Cooked Nigel's recipe with a whole bottle of claret last night. Will reheat it tonight with the mustard and some parsley added at the last minute, and will spoon it over billowing heaps of mash, with some Brussels Sprouts to add a green counterpoint of flavour and appearance. Such a chilly day, that I know this will warm the cockles. Got the organic oxtail from Feller's Butchers in Oxford's Covered Market - not cheap, but fantastic quality. PS: Eating notes - very rich and unctuous. We cooked it for a further one and a half hours today, and it probably needed it to fully tenderise the meat. The remains will make a nice Cottage Pie tomorrow. Served it tonight with a Hunter Valley Shiraz, whose rich, spicy notes matched the casserole perfectly

Baked Rhubarb

Lovely forced Yorkshire rhubarb, baked for 20 minutes or so with the juice and zest of a blood orange and some sugar, turns into a juicy compote that will accompany the frozen yoghurt for dinner tonight. I used to hate rhubarb, but love it now - I think it is one of those things that you grow to like the older you get, like dark, green iodinish Spring Greens, or Campari (to which I am probably addicted). I must say, this idea of Nigel's, of pairing the yoghurt and rhubarb, promises to be inspired!

Frozen Vanilla Yoghurt Sorbet

Three Nigel recipes today! This little beauty is tucked away on the freezer for tonight to accompany roasted rhubard (recipe above). This is scarcely worth printing as a recipe it is so simple: tip a 500g tub of Total Greek yoghurt into a bowl, and beat in 4 level tablespoons of caster sugar. Add 2 teaspoons of real vanilla extract (or the wonderful vanilla paste in little jars you can now buy, so you get the seeds) and either churn in an ice-cream machine, or put in a plastic container and freeze (whipping every hour or so to break up crystals). Sneaked a spoonful (of course!) and it tastes divine, echoing the last mounds of icy snow I can see in the garden from the kitchen PS: tasting notes this was soooooo good, almost better than a full fat cream version (of course, Greek Yoghurt isn't without a fat content, but considerably lower than double cream, egg yolks, etc) I really, REALLY recommend this ice and can see that I will be making it many times

Kipper Patties with Dill

I love kippers, so these patties were always going to be delicious, especially with a mustardy dill mayonnaise to accompany it. We dished up huge mounds of savoy cabbage, stir-fried with onions, garlic and carrots. Once again, I turned to the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse for the kippers, as they do marvellous boned ones. If you are ever in the region of Lancaster, do make a detour to the wonderful, atmospheric Glasson Dock, a mysterious, watery, misty place, with a great pub and the Aladdin's Cave shop attached to the smokehouse. The patties went really well with a bottle of Jackson Estate's New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - delicious! PS: We had the remaining patties for breakfast with poached eggs - very nice! The kippery flavour seemed more pronounced than last night. A great breakfast with freshly-squeezed pineapple, lime and orange juice and oceans of strong Assam tea.

Smoked Haddock with Flageolet Beans and Mustard

A nice soothing dish, this, made with an immaculate piece of smoked haddock from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse that has been sitting in the freezer. I'm afraid I did take issue with Nigel's method though! Firstly, it seemed a crime to me to bake the fish first for 20 minutes, and then again for 40 minutes with the cream and beans. Also, 2 x 400g tins of flageolet beans for 2 people seemed way too much, so one tin did fine. And 300ml of cream for 2 people is unconscionable - especially if those 2 people are in their 40s and 50s and not in the blush of youthly vigour if you get my drift! So I used about 100ml of cream which was more than enough, mixed with the drained beans, chunks of RAW skinned haddock, mustard and plenty of parsley and chives, then baked this for 25 minutes until rich and bubbling. Very nice served with toast - despite Nigel saying he felt this was inappropriate and insubstantial. Really, Nigel, you must have hollow legs, the amount of nosh you can put away! Do try this, though, it is very good and dead easy. Photo courtesy of http://www.cooksister.com/2008/04/smoked-haddock.html

Spiced Roast Potatoes with Yoghurt and Mint

Lovely way with potatoes, and I made it even easier by sprinkling the potatoes with a little turmeric and grinding over garam masala spices from a pepper mill, then spraying the whole thing with groundnut oil from a pump dispenser. Whacked it in the oven, next to the roasting butternut squash, and 30 minutes later, a lovely spicy supper. The minted yoghurt is essential - I used Total Greek Yoghurt, 'cos it is just the best thing in the world, ever! I also used brilliant frozen, chopped mint - yes, you did read that right! - in a ziplock bag from Waitrose. A most useful product, and also in the range is coriander, parsley and chives.

Roast Pumpkin with Spicy Tomato Sauce

The first of two Nigel recipes tonight - ideal veggie main course for a cold, possibly snowy night. Although why Nigel used fresh tomatoes in February, I don't know! So, I used a butternut squash, and made a spicy tomato sauce with a tin, using a base of pureed onion, ginger and garlic with LOTS of red chilli. Added some spinach and coriander leaf at the end. Delicious. Check out the recipe here. It accompanied the Spiced Roast Potatoes (see separate entry) very nicely

Marmalade Cake

The flat was full of the fragrance of orange this weekend, as we made a batch of marmalade with some very good Seville oranges - I think it will be a good year! I also made the Marmalade Cake for tea-time, the fresh orange zest adding to the symphony of oranginess in the air. Very good, deeply-buttery cake, with a nice citrus icing acting as a counterpoint to the crumb. We justified it because the whole of the South East is hunkering down for an Arctic snowstorm - we need tea and cake by the fire!